If AT&T’s purchase of DirecTV goes through, as was widely reported Tuesday, it could be a boon for fans of USC, UCLA and other Pac-12 Conference schools.
Pac-12 Networks – which carry hundreds of conference sporting events each season, including multiple football games most weeks – do not have a carriage deal with DirecTV, the second-largest multichannel video provider locally and nationally.
However, AT&T is among the Pac-12’s corporate partners. Pac-12 Networks are available on AT&T U-verse, and AT&T is the exclusive wireless provider for the league. Given that pre-existing relationship, there’s a good chance that a merger between AT&T and DirecTV would lead to a distribution agreement between DirecTV and the Pac-12 sooner than later.